Investment Committee Meeting Minutes
Meeting: March 5, 2026 | Posted: April 17, 2026 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes
This meeting of the of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.
This meeting was held in person at State Universities Retirement System, in Champaign, IL.
The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk (Zoom); Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie (chair); Mr. Pranav Kothari; Mr. John Lyons; Mr. Herbert Pitman; Dr. Steven Rock; Mr. Collin Van Meter; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez.
Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); Ms. Jessica Pickens, Mr. Alex Ramos, Mr. Joe Duncan, and Mr. Shane Willoughby, Senior Investment Officers; Ms. Stephany Brinkman, Associate Investment Officer; Mr. Al Lund, Mr. Darian Saracevic, Ms. Madison Manns, Ms. Estefany Andrade, and Mr. Graham Turk, Investment Analysts; Ms. Tracy Bennett, Senior Investment Compliance Analyst; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; Ms. Nichole Hemming, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer; Mr. Albert Lee, Associate Legal Counsel; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Ms. Kelly Carson, Ms. Chelsea McCarty, and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; Mr. Steve Voss and Mr. Colin Bebee of Meketa; and Mr. Michael Calabrese of Foley & Lardner LLP.
Investment Committee roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, not called; Trustee Figueroa, absent; Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie (chair), present; Trustee Jiganti, absent; Trustee Kothari, present; Trustee Lyons, present; Trustee Pitman, present; Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter, present; and Trustee Vasquez, absent.
Motion To Allow Trustees to Participate via Electronic Means
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That Trustee Bodnaruk be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call as allowed by 5 ILCS 120/7 due to the fact he is prevented from physically attending this meeting because of 1) personal illness or disability, 2) employment purposes or the business of SURS, 3) a family or other emergency, or 4) unexpected childcare obligations.
Trustee Giertz seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – not called
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Roll call attendance for trustees participating via electronic means was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present. Trustee Vasquez physically joined the meeting at 9:02 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
Trustee Hendrie presented the minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of December 4, 2025.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That the minutes from the December 4, 2025, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented.
Trustee Giertz seconded the motion, which passed with all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.
Approval Closed of Minutes
Trustee Hendrie presented the closed minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of December 4, 2025.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That the closed minutes from the December 4, 2025, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.
Trustee Giertz seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.
Chairperson’s Report
Trustee Hendrie did not have a formal chairperson’s report.
CIO Report
Mr. Michael Schlachter turned his CIO report over to Mr. Colin Bebee who informed the Board of organizational changes occurring at Meketa, none of which directly impact SURS. Mr. Bebee also introduced Meketa employee, Mr. Steve Voss, who works out of their Chicago office. Mr. Voss is now part of the Meketa team that serves SURS and he will be attending meetings. Three written reports were provided to the trustees titled, “CIO Report from the June 2025 Investment Committee Meeting,” “CIO Report Regarding Actions taken Under Delegated Authority,” and “Investment Contracts Approved by Executive Director,” each of which contains information relating to delegated authority and the approval of investment contracts.
Closed Session
At 9:13 a.m. Trustee Rock moved that the Investment Committee go into closed session pursuant to §2(c)(7) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act to consider the sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts. Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Return to Open Session
The Investment Committee returned to open session at 10:15 a.m.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That based on the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, Versor Investments be terminated as an Alternative Risk Premia/Diversifying Strategies Manager and that SURS assets be liquidated with appropriate timing determined by SURS Investment Staff.
Trustee Kothari seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That based on the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, EARNEST Partners be terminated as a Global Equity Manager and that SURS assets be liquidated with appropriate timing determined by SURS Investment Staff.
Trustee Kothari seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Annual Review of Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) and Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP)
Ms. Jessica Pickens and Mr. Mark Rowe, along with Jared Hardin of CAPTRUST provided the annual review of the Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) and the Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP). Written reports titled, “2026 Annual DC Board Review” and “CAPTRUST DC Annual Plan Review” were provided to trustees.
The educational session lasted 45 minutes and concluded at 11:05 a.m.
Review of Lifetime Income Strategy (LIS)
Representatives from Alliance Bernstein provided the annual review of the Lifetime Income Strategy (LIS) Plan. The document titled, “CRS/LIS Annual Update” was provided to trustees.
The educational session lasted 50 minutes and concluded at 11:55 a.m.
Review and Approval of Defined Contribution Investment Policy
Ms. Jessica Pickens provided a summary of the current Defined Contribution Investment Policy and she reviewed the proposed changes presented for the committee’s consideration. A copy of the redline version of the policy titled, “DC Investment Policy Update 2026 – redline” and a clean version titled, “DC Investment Policy Update 2026 – clean” were provided to the trustees for their review.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That based upon the recommendation from SURS Staff and CAPTRUST, the revised Investment Policy for the defined contribution plan be approved as presented.
Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Crisis Risk Offset (CRO) and Trend Following – Educational Sessoin
Mr. Bebee of Meketa presented a report titled, “Systematic Trend Following” regarding CRO trend following. Within his presentation he discussed concepts, CRO framework, and strategies.
The educational session lasted 35 minutes and concluded at 12:35 p.m.
Closed Session
At 1:18 p.m. Trustee Rock moved that the Investment Committee go into closed session pursuant to §2(c)(7) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act to consider the sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts. Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Return to Open Session
The Investment Committee returned to open session at 3:20 p.m.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:
- That based upon the recommendation from SURS Staff and Meketa, SURS retain AQR Capital Management for their Alternative Trends/Helix Strategy in the amount up to $400 million, pending successful contract and fee negotiations.
Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons -aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Investment Risk Report
Mr. Schlachter and Ms. Pickens presented the CIO report titled, “Portfolio Risk Report” which covered SURS total portfolio including potential portfolio downsides, volatility, liquidity, and risk metrics. Mr. Schlachter also provided information regarding exposure within Traditional & Non-Traditional Growth and Private Markets.
Quarterly Performance Review
Mr. Bebee provided his report titled, “25Q4 SURS Board Report” which contains information regarding final total fund performance through December 31, 2025.
Corporate Governance Review
Ms. Stephany Brinkman presented a report titled, “Corporate Gov Update” that contains information regarding SURS’ governance activity as of December 31, 2025/ The quarterly report includes a Council of Institutional Investors (CII) update and current SURS proxy voting information.
Corporate Governance Update
Ms. Stephany Brinkman presented a report titled, “Corporate Gov Update” that contains information regarding governance activity as of September 30, 2025. This quarterly also included current proxy voting information.
Informational Items Not Requiring Committee Action
- SURS FY 2025 Private Equity and Private Credit Commitments as of December 31, 2025
- Consultants Compensation and Economic Opportunity Disclosures for 2025
Public Comment
The following individuals presented public comments regarding the proposed Illinois Fossil Fuel Divestment Act: Ms. Patricia Simpson, Ms. Julie Ellefson, Ms. Babette Neuberger, Ms. Catharine Schutzius, and Ms. Michelle Couturier.
Trustee Comment
Trustee Rock presented some information regarding labor principles relating to private equity and he asked that the same be added as an agenda item for the next meeting. The trustees agreed to add this topic to the agenda for further discussion during the April 2026 Investment Committee meeting.
Adjourn
There was no further business brought before the committee and Trustee Rock moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Kothari, and it passed via the following roll call vote:
Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye
Ms. Suzanne Mayer
Executive Director and Secretary, SURS Board of Trustees